Toll road scammers continue to send ‘smishing’ texts: Don't click on these links

A text message scam claiming that consumers owe money for fake, unpaid road tolls is continuing to proliferate across the U.S., and experts are warning recipients to exercise caution.

The scam texts try to impersonate the toll service in your state – for example, if you live in California, the text will likely say it's from FastTrak. If you live in New York, or one of the 19 other states that use E-Z Pass, it will probably claim to be from them. However, it also seems a popular tactic for scammers is simply to send the texts out en mass and hope something sticks, meaning you may get a text claiming to be from a toll company in a state you've never visited.

The scam texts can be more or less specific, but usually threaten the loss of your license, additional penalties, a report to the DMV or legal consequences for not paying the phony tolls. They come from phone numbers but also email addresses, such as "westmichelleville3@icloud.com" or "marie.titeau87@icloud.com," both examples of addresses attached to scam texts received by USA TODAY staff.

Almost all of these texts include a link but many of them are not directly clickable. Instead, they encourage you to copy and paste a link into your browser. These links are often made to look similar to real toll websites, such as the fake address "e-zpass.com-pay" which is easy to mistake for the real website, which has URL addresses, like "https://www.e-zpassny.com."

What the unpaid toll scam texts look like

Scam texts are often formulaic in nature with some variations. USA TODAY reporters in states and cities including New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington D.C., Cincinnati, Miami and Indianapolis have confirmed receiving some version of these text messages on a repeated basis since January.

"This is a final reminder regarding the unpaid toll from your recent trip on the Maryland toll road. To avoid an additional fee of $35.00, please settle your outstanding balance now by visiting the link below. ez-md.net (Enter the link in your browser to securely access your file)," reads one, more high-effort message received by a staff member.

"Please pay your FastTrak Lane tolls by February 20, 2025. To avoid a fine and keep your license, you can pay at https://paytollitua.vip/ezdrivema (Please reply Y, then exit the text message and open it again to activate the link, or copy the link into your Safari browser and open," says another common message.

Some of them may mention dates that have already passed or, like in another common format, attempt to rush you into payment by saying it is due in a certain amount of hours. For example:

"E-ZPass - Toll Violation Notice Dear User, We noticed an unpaid toll balance on your E-ZPass account. To avoid late fees, please make the payment within 12 hours. If payment is not received within this time, additional penalties will apply, and the matter may be reported to the DMV. [Payment Link] HTTP://ezpasshet.top/pay. Reply with "Y", exit the SMS, then reopen it to activate the link. Or copy and paste the link into your browser.Thank you for your prompt attention. E-ZPass Support Team."

Suspecting a scam? Don't click these links

While the texts vary in style and copy, they tend to share some popular link styles, such as shortened Bitly links that prevent the receiver from seeing the full URL text, or links made to look similar to the real thing, such as having "E-Z pass" in the URL text.

McAfee, one of the most well-known anti-scam and anti-virus software companies nationwide, compiled a list of some of the most popular link style spotted in these texts:

• paytollbysuab[dot]top/pay

• thetollroads-paytollhmm[dot]world

• thetollroads-paytollxtd[dot]world/us

• thetollroads-paytollwpc[dot]world/us

• thetollroads-paytollolno[dot]xin/us

• thetollroads-paytollktc[dot]world/us

• thetollroads-paytoll[dot]world/us

• paytollmit[dot]vip

• paytollaqs[dot]vip

• paytollcqb[dot]top/ezdrivema

Remember, this list is not exhaustive but is rather a snapshot of some common URL types and formats found in these messages.

Which states are getting the most scam toll texts?

McAfee also researched the frequency at which certain regions are receiving the texts and the results show a high concentration in major cities and metro areas. The top 15 U.S. cities experiencing the highest frequency of these texts, according to McAfee, include:

• Dallas, Texas

• Atlanta, Georgia

• Los Angeles, California

• Chicago, Illinois

• Orlando, Florida

• Miami, Florida

• San Antonio, Texas

• Las Vegas, Nevada

• Houston, Texas

• Denver, Colorado

• San Diego, California

• Phoenix, Arizona

• Seattle, Washington

• Indianapolis, Indiana

• Boardman, Ohio

FBI, FTC aware of 'coast to coast' toll scams

Last April, the FBI reported receiving more than 2,000 complaints reporting smishing scams representing toll road collection services in three states. The Federal Trade Commission put out a fresh notice in January, saying scammers are again pretending to be toll agencies from "coast to coast."

"Whether you’ve driven through a toll recently or not, you might’ve gotten a text saying you owe money for unpaid tolls. It’s probably a scam," said the FTC advisory. "Not only is the scammer trying to steal your money, but if you click the link, they could get your personal info."

What is 'smishing'?

These texts are an example of "smishing."

"Smishing" is a social engineering attack that uses fake text messages to trick people into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information or sending money to hackers, according to IBM. The term is a combination of "SMS" or "short message service" and "phishing," an umbrella term for social engineering attacks.

What to do if you receive a toll road scam text

If you receive a toll agency text message demanding money, the FBI and FTC suggest to do the following:

• Do not click the link in the text and instead visit the legitimate toll service website directly to check your account balance. You can also contact the toll service's legitimate customer service phone number.

• Delete any smishing texts and use your phone's "report junk" feature before doing so.

• If you did click the link or provide any information, the FBI recommends making efforts to secure your personal information and financial accounts. This includes tracking and disputing any unfamiliar charges.

• File a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center including the phone number where the text originated and the website listed in the text.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Don't click that link: Toll road scam texts continue to spread